Longhorns' Edmond going from recluse to game-changer

﻿Not one to draw attention to himself, UT linebacker Steve Edmond (33) has turned the heads of teammates and foes alike with a recent run of big plays.

﻿Not one to draw attention to himself, UT linebacker Steve Edmond...

AUSTIN - Steve Edmond would have rather been alone. He said he often feels that way.

But in the seconds after he ended Texas' overtime victory at West Virginia last Saturday with one of the Longhorns' biggest defensive plays of the year, holing up in his room wasn't an option. Neither was his favorite pastime of sitting by himself on a fishing boat on a pond in east Texas.

Edmond knew a dog pile was coming, and the self-effacing small-town kid wanted no part of it. The week before, he got caught up in an end-zone mob and rolled his ankle. He vowed then to "never celebrate again."

So after his game-sealing interception, Edmond stiff-armed teammate Kendall Thompson and ran more than 100 yards toward the Longhorns' cheering section, with dozens of teammates in close pursuit.

Translator

To read this article in one of Houston's most-spoken languages, click on the button below.

"I was trying to get away from all of them," Edmond said. "I wanted to celebrate with the people who really can't touch you, like the fans."

For a guy who prefers to blend in and avoid attention, Edmond is doing a pretty poor job of it these days. His finish against the Mountaineers, in which he broke up a pass on third-and-goal and then picked one off on the next play, was the culmination of a head-turning six-game stretch.

Finding a comfort zone

No longer is Edmond the player nervous about failing, an affliction that he said crippled him in the past. No longer is he the guy who didn't know what to do with the freakishly long arms that teammate Johnathan Gray joked allow him to "scratch his knees standing up."

Now, Edmond's 6-3, 245-pound frame is playing with a purpose. And as the tackles and pass breakups keep piling up, it's impossible not to notice.

Edmond admitted it took awhile. As a freshman, he was overwhelmed adjusting to UT coming from Class 2A Daingerfield. As a sophomore last year, he was asked to pick up the slack when linebacker Jordan Hicks suffered a season-ending injury, and he wasn't up to the task.

"I was nervous, like when you don't want to fail," Edmond said. "Once they said, 'Hut,' I was just frozen. It was like I didn't know what to do."

Two months ago, Hicks tore his Achilles tendon, and Edmond found himself in the same situation. This time, though, he has thrived, leading the team with 63 tackles, including 12 at West Virginia.

Preference for solitude

He said he knew things were better during the preseason when he chased Gray down from behind in a scrimmage. The addition of defensive coordinator Greg Robinson put him over the top.

"I was more confident," Edmond said. "I felt like I could handle anything."

Anything, of course, except for going out on the town. Diggs said teammates have tried to coax Edmond into joining them for social gatherings but to no avail. Coach Mack Brown said Edmond "would rather hunt and fish than do anything," and Edmond said he agrees with that assessment.

On a pond near the town of Naples, he can relax and wait for "whatever bites the line." In crowds, like the one after Saturday's game, he's not nearly as comfortable. So if there's going to be a party in his honor, it will have to go on without him.

"I'm cool with my teammates," Edmond said. "It's just not my thing. I like to stay at the house."